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Why aren't these trees regrowing after topping?

harderanger06549harderanger06549 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi there! I have a tree issue and could really do with your help please!

These two trees were cut down a bit a couple of years ago however they have shown no signs of regrowing to hide the ugly tops. I tree of a similar type just to the left of them regrew fine without any issues, however these have always looked much less healthy with minimal new shoots. We are based in the UK.

We haven't tended to them at all.

What should we try please?

Thanks so much!!





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Posts

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Are they Leylandii? If so they wont regrow greenery from old wood.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Most Conifers don't regrow. A few do but I can't remember which


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • harderanger06549harderanger06549 Posts: 4
    nutcutlet said:
    Most Conifers don't regrow. A few do but I can't remember which
    Oh wow I didn't realise that! Assuming it's a type that doesn't regrow, are there any tips to avoid this ugly look please?
  • harderanger06549harderanger06549 Posts: 4
    edited September 2023
    bertrand-mabel said:
    Are they Leylandii? If so they wont regrow greenery from old wood.
    Thank you for the help. Hmm not sure - your guess would be as good as mine, though from my untrained eye, perhaps Western Red Cedar?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You won't be able to easily disguise the tops, and they won't regrow from those trunks which have been cut back. They don't look like leylandii to me, but it's largely irrelevant.
    The surrounding branches may grow enough to hide the worst of it, but they aren't likely to look pretty at any point unfortunately. If the other one you mention was a much younger, smaller specimen, it may have managed to recover well enough to hide any pruning. It could be a different tree altogether though or a sapling grown from the seed of the original trees. Not easy to be exact about a reason without seeing it though.  

    Perhaps some of the other planting will grow enough to hide it well enough. Hard to see from the photos though. If you don't see the tops from the ground level, it won't matter too much, but this sort of tree is better removed altogether rather than being topped like that. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Fairygirl said:
    this sort of tree is better removed altogether rather than being topped like that. 
    Indeed you can shape most conifers by pruning judiciously over years, coppicing isn't really going to create a thing of beauty. Maybe worth removing them and put something appropriate in their place? 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - most can be kept in a good shape with careful pruning from early on @amancalledgeorge . 
    Too late for those though. It's very unfortunate. There's a cherry and a birch not far from me which have had that treatment. It's very sad, as they look dreadful all year round, and would also be better if removed and something else planted instead. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited September 2023
    A close up of the scales and the seed cones might help. I can see some cones at the end of a branch but can't blow it up big enough to get detail.

    The branches seem to have a graceful drooping habit.
    There are a few conifer type trees that have a drooping branches habit.

    Cupressus nootkatatensis. Might start you off in the right direction but I could be wrong.

    It looks like that shape of tree you have said is okay.
    (Sorry I edited this bit! I did not notice what you said in your first post).

    If you are fond of them it may be worth getting a proper arboriculturalist in to advise whether they can be reshaped at the top or if a tree funeral is going to be your best bet.
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    The problem with these conifers is that the inside of the branches always dies off and you only have green on the ends. It means that with drooping branches you get this large area of bare wood which will never fill in. The only way to cover it is perhaps with a climbing plant like ivy, which seems to be growing at the base of them anyway, but that may take quite a while to grow that high, as they look like large trees. Ivy looks quite nice in these situations as it mounds over the top but those trees are never going to improve. If it was a "proper" tree surgeon that topped them for you, I'm surprised they didn't warn you. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Some conifers have a life of about 30 years which is why they grow plantations of them on the moors,  cut down and replant again.
    These in our garden had come to the end of their life after 30 years,
    1st photo 2013,  next one 2017. When one of them started to fall we had the all out.
    I think they look awful when they start going bald in the middle. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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